British

"British"
File:CurriculumBritish.png "British" cover
Promotional single by Curriculum from the album Flunking Out
Released	2 July 2012
Recorded	2012
Genre	Alternative Indie pop Britpop
Label	Blacklight
Writer	Gregory Preston Athanasiadis Phillip Mandelbaum Wyatt van Cleef Dana Breckenridge Stephanie Kesh
Composer	Shawn Middlesbrough
Producer	Shawn Middlesbrough
Curriculum chronology "Amnesia/Waiting" (2012) "British" (2012) "Teamwork" (2012)

"British" is a song by American indie pop band Curriculum. Written by Gregory Preston Athanasiadis, Phillip Mandelbaum, Wyatt van Cleef, Dana Breckenridge, and Stephanie Kesh and produced by Shawn Middlesbrough, the song was originally intended to be on the band's EP Summer School EP before its release was scrapped. "British", however, will be released as a promotional single on 2 July 2012 where it will be serviced only to digital outlet and streaming services.

Lyrically, the song is meant to be a tribute towards British culture and is said to promote and also heavily includes thematic influences of Anglophilia, which is a fondness of British culture and people. A British-themed video premiered on 5 June 2012, without a prior release statement or even a premiere/first play of the song itself on the internet or radio.

Background, inspiration, and writing

"British" was written by most of the members of Curriculum after the band had spent some time in the UK following the launch and their first instances of success with their careers in the UK market. Having spent most of their time in the UK promoting their music, despite most of the band being American, the band grew to love British culture and British people. The song itself was inspired by the band's fascination of British culture and how they wished they could fit in more instead of "sticking out like the Americans we are" as stated by van Cleef. Van Cleef also added that the band was also learning something new about the culture and the ways of British and, as a result, they were "never ever bored of being here in the UK." "British" was written and recorded sometime in the spring 2012.

In the song, the band references to various aspects of British culture from shops that are popular in the UK to certain subcultures and genres of music that have had an impact on British society. "Uncle Sam" and "Union Jack" are also mentioned as well as the Commonwealth. As the beginning chant of the song, the term "hail the queen" is repeatedly sung.

Release and promotion

The single was released only to digital music and streaming services on 2 July 2012 in the United Kingdom and the United States, making it the band's first fourth promotional single. With the exception of their Record Store Day exclusive release of "Amnesia/Waiting", "British" was the first promotional single by the band to be released in both the United Kingdom and the United States at the same time.

Promotion for "British" began when the music video to the single was uploaded and premiered on the band's official VEVO account without a prior release statement or even a premiere on the internet or radio. Soon afterwards, however, promotion for the single trailed off. Coincidentally, the music video to "British" premiered the day after the Jubilee Concert had aired throughout the United Kingdom.

Reception

Critical reaction

The song managed to received mixed to positive reviews.

Commercial peformance

The single debuted at #16 on the UK Downloads Chart, making it their second charting single on the chart. The track sold 11,513 copies in its first week of availability. On the following week, "British" surprisingly jumped to #2, becoming their highest peaking title on the chart. The following week, the song fell off the UK Downloads Chart. The single also charted at #38 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in the United States. "British" sold more than 39,000 copies in the UK to date.

Music video

The music video to "British" premiered in June 2012 and was uploaded to the band's official VEVO account without prior promotion, an official press statement, or even a premiere of the song on the internet or radio. The video was to announce the song as the band's new promotional single.

The music video to "British" was shot in London. It includes dancers and the band in two different montages that inter-cut with each other. The scenes with the dancers were shot on a soundstage, while the scenes with band were shot in an alley. Both scenes were shot on the same day and the band's scenes purposefully had multiple takes.

In the video, it is inter-cut with the band singing in an alley while on a dolley that is speeding backwards constantly and with dancers on a soundstage dancing in front a giant British flag which serves as their backdrop. For the band's scenes, with the exception of which ever band member was in the shot, the entire scene utilizes special effects to color all of the surroundings red, white, and blue, the colors of the British flag.

The video received mixed reviews but was complemented on being "very British" and received over five million views.

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
UK Downloads Chart (URAPS)	2
US Billboard Alternative Songs	38